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Friday, November 30, 2012

Panned for its lackluster design and dynamics, Honda has rushed a redesign of its Civic compact and here it is. The question is: are the changes enough?
From the outside, the new Civic wears completely redesigned front and rear ends. The biggest change is the new open-mouth front bumper design which the all-new Accord is also sporting. Underneath, changes have been done to improve the Civic's electric power steering system which promises a quicker ratio for a more "fluid suspension action" and a "flatter, more responsive cornering attitude". Aside from the steering, the Civic now has a thicker rear stabilizer bar, increased spring rate, and larger front brakes.

Inside, the 2013 Civic benefits from additional sound deadening and a thicker windshield for a quieter cabin. Also new in the 2013: new headliner, soft touch plastics on the instrument panel, and revised textures on center console. The Civic also gets a myriad of new available toys such as Bluetooth hands-free, a rear view parking camera, a sliding center arm rest, and so on.

In terms of powertrain, the 2013 Civic remains unchanged with its 1.8-liter i-VTEC engine that's good for 140 horsepower. It's still mated to a choice between a 5-speed manual or 5-speed automatic.

Since the Philippines saw the pre-facelifted Civic being launched just this year, it's safe to assume that the Civic redesign won't enter the market until mid-2013 at the earliest. And that's assuming that they're bringing the redesign here. It must be remembered that the Japanese-made Civic (EXi Limited Edition) did have all the fancy toys such as Bluetooth hands-free and rear parking camera only to disappear when production shifted to Thailand.

UPDATE: At the sidelines of the 2013 Honda CR-V launch, we just had to pop the question on whether the 2013 Civic will make its way to the Philippines. Honda Cars Philippines's official reply is: "no".

With the all-new Civic just launched in 2012, they cannot do a refresh just one year into the new model's life cycle. However, they didn't discount the fact that the North American Civic refresh could be a mid-cycle refresh for the ASEAN market.